Most University of Wisconsin students view education as their ticket into the job market, with a career beginning just after they obtain their degree. But others are choosing to get a head-start on life outside of college by taking advantage of opportunities found on campus ? by becoming student entrepreneurs.
Most University of Wisconsin students view education as their ticket into the job market, with a career beginning just after they obtain their degree. But others are choosing to get a head-start on life outside of college by taking advantage of opportunities found on campus ? by becoming student entrepreneurs.
It all started with a $20 purchase of a large quantity of lab glass at the UW-Madison Swap Shop. “I wanted to start a business selling things on eBay,” said Rhett Roeth. He had no idea what types of glassware were in the box, but when he picked up the first item, he realized he was on to something. “I knew the piece would sell for more than $20, so I earned back my investment with one sale.”
Gary Stone learned how to windsurf in 1983 with Hoofers at UW-Madison. Undaunted by the lack of ocean, Stone fell in love with the sport. It?s turned out to be a lifelong passion ? and a vocation for almost three decades. Stone has been in the windsurfer business since 1984.
Katherine Cramer Walsh, a UW-Madison political science professor, said Walker?s jobs pledge, and any retreat from it, ?certainly seems to be a point of vulnerability? for his campaign. ?The economy is the issue and it was a very blatant claim.? But Walsh isn?t sure how much it will matter, given that this jobs pledge may have fallen from public awareness and few voters ?have not made up their mind about Walker.?
For the new 3D version of “Titanic” that?s now in theaters, director James Cameron marshaled an army of visual effects technicians who spent over a year converting the 1997 film, frame by frame, into 3D.And those technicians would probably buy the owners of a Madison-based software company a round of beers, to thank them for making that time-consuming job a little easier. If the rotoscopers are doing their jobs right, audiences won’t even notice their work, said Perry Kivolowitz, one of the four partners in SilhouetteFX and a computer science professor at UW-Madison.
So what is the secret of Promega?s success? How has it blossomed from its beginnings as a small enzyme business in 1978 to become “the granddaddy of biotechnology” in the Madison area, as Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has termed it? Good timing “Bill Linton had the idea of starting a research products company in the right place at the right time,” said Richard Burgess, emeritus professor of oncology at UW-Madison. “He?s done a marvelous job of guiding this company through the ups and downs of the economy and everything else.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison recognized alumni and faculty for outstanding entrepreneurial achievement. [See final item.]
Ignore the headlines about job losses. For guys like Forrest Woolworth, these are exciting times. Woolworth, 26, is brand manager at PerBlue, a mobile and social gaming software company based on Odana Road in Madison. Launched by a group of computer science friends from the UW in 2008, PerBlue has grown from five to 35 full-time employees. And it?s hiring still.
ASHWAUBENON ? If Brad Toll and Ken Wachter get their way, the WIAA will have an easy decision to make in a few years. Toll, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Green Bay & the Lakeshore Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Wachter, who has the same title but with PMI Entertainment Group, are two of the leading players in the saga that over the past five months has pitted the state?s oldest community against its most political, caused debate and resulted in harsh criticism of the WIAA, UW-Madison Athletic Department and Madison city leaders.
Now that the WIAA has made the decision to keep the boys basketball tournament in Madison, it?s time for UW-Madison, city officials and local businesses to get off the bench. According to reports, the boys basketball tournament brings in over $6 million to the Madison area. So you?ve got to ask, what is going to be done to keep the money in Madison versus losing it to Green Bay or even Milwaukee?
The reconstruction of two blocks of State Street has a finalized budget timeline, but will have to work around other projects in the same area.
Who could have predicted at this time last year that Wisconsin would experience the nation?s largest percentage decrease in employment over this 12-month period? Um … actually, UW-Madison economist Steven Deller could have. And did. Last March, Deller, a professor of applied economics, studied the ripple effects of Gov. Scott Walker?s budget-repair bill and two-year budget proposal.
Have an idea for a software program that will make life easier or an online business you?ve dreamed of? Tech types and their supporters will gather on Friday for Startup Weekend Madison, a marathon, 54-hour collaboration aimed at turning digital ideas into reality. A program similar to Startup Weekend, 3 Day Startup Madison, will be held the following weekend of May 4-6, and is aimed at commercializing technology by UW-Madison students.
In an increasingly digital world, a company started by University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates has built an online support network for students with problems. Spill LLC encourages students at 30 campuses in the U.S. and Canada to vent, or “spill,” their problems on its website.
There is still construction work going on — but much of it is on the University of Wisconsin campus or at hospitals not subject to the property tax. A lot of Madison companies are finding work — just not in Wisconsin.
Madison officials cheered the WIAA?s decision Tuesday to keep the state high school boys basketball tournament in the state capital through 2020 and expressed hope the girls tournament would return after leaving for Green Bay for two years.
When UW-Madison?s James Thomson in 1998 became the first scientist to grow human embryonic stem cells in a lab, it generated tremendous excitement about the medical possibilities. Thomson tried to downplay the breakthrough but talk spread about cures for Alzheimer?s or Parkinson?s disease, growing livers for cirrhosis suffers or producing healthy heart cells for cardiac patients. The miracle cures have been slow in coming, however.
You’ve got an idea for a new business, but what steps do you need to take to bring that idea to fruition? “It is always a good idea to do some research about the industry and the market to determine if there are barriers to entering the industry, if there is a need for the business and to explore what it really means to become a business owner,” says Michelle Somes-Booher, business coach at the UW-Madison Small Business Development Center.
“Madison is the perfect location for this event,” said Mayor Paul Soglin in a news release. “The combination of UW-Madison, Madison College and Edgewood College in conjunction with startup entrepreneurs provides a great environment.” Startup Weekend Madison is the latest in a string of almost 500 similar events that have taken place worldwide, with another 200 in the planning stages, according to a news release from the organization. Developers, designers, marketers, product managers and startup enthusiasts are invited, as well as anyone looking to test the waters of starting a business.
On the surface, a mud run is a test of will, endurance and strength as participants run, climb, crawl and maneuver through an obstacle course that can cover acres of challenging terrain. But events such as Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash and Spartan Race also are businesses that have led others to do their own variation of the popular races. One of the newest is LoziLu, based in part in Madison. The all-female event was created by two husband-and-wife teams who are graduates of UW-Madison and who invested $50,000.
UW-Madison announced Friday that the university and adidas will not meet the April 15 deadline for completing mediation set by the Labor Licensing Policy Committee last month.
Two young UW-Madison graduates who had a vision about what complications could result from life in the digital world ? after death ? have sold their digital estate planning company to a Swiss competitor. Entrustet, 30 W. Mifflin St., will become part of SecureSafe, an online data storage service founded by DSwiss, of Zurich. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
SolRayo, a Madison technology startup company, is getting a $500,000 Phase 2 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the National Science Foundation to bring to market the coatings it has developed to make batteries last longer.
Businesses and organizations that would like to become more sustainable are being offered a golden opportunity by an online degree program offered through a partnership of University of Wisconsin System institutions.
UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward said the university is making progress toward beginning mediation with adidas, UW?s main licensing partner, to resolve the ongoing dispute over whether the company owes unemployed workers severance pay.
Interim UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward said there has been progress on mediation with Adidas but admits it is slow going. ?While the mediation process, by nature, seems to move slower than most of us would prefer, there has been progress,? he wrote in an update to the campus Labor Licensing Policy Committee (LLPC).
Hospitals and clinics have mass quantities of data about their patients now that electronic medical records have become relatively common. So why not use that information to figure out which patients may be at the highest risk for a serious illness ? and try to prevent it?That?s the idea behind Forward Health Group, a Madison company established in 2009.
Imbed Biosciences has been working on an antibacterial coating that would prevent wounds from becoming infected as they heal, and a phase one Small Business Innovation Research grant will help push the project ahead, said Ankit Agarwal, president and chief executive officer. Imbed?s technology has been developed at the UW-Madison over the last four years by a group of chemists, veterinarians and surgeons. Agarwal, currently Imbed?s sole employee, said the grant will let him hire a second employee and contract with the UW for further studies.
The United States may be one of the richest nations on the planet, but we aren?t the happiest. Neither are Britain, Japan, Germany or many other wealthy countries, according to a new “World Happiness Report” commissioned by the United Nations. The United States ranks 11th in the report. Not surprisingly, the world?s poorest countries are far less happy than their well-to-do counterparts.
(Gregg Mitman is interim director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison.)
A cross section of community leaders said they like seeing Cieslewicz?s commentary. Founder and sole employee of Dave Cieslewicz and Associates ? the associate is his dog, Calvin, he said ? Cieslewicz also is leading an effort ? funded by local hospitals, the university and Madison Gas and Electric ? to revitalize the Greenbush and Vilas neighborhoods on the Near West Side. The broad goals are to start a community development corporation to help convert former student housing back to single-family homes, redevelop some areas with workforce apartments, and revitalize Regent Street, he said. As an adjunct professor, he?s teaching two courses at UW-Madison: Introduction to the City; and Politics and Policy of Green Urbanism.”I love the environment,” he said. “It?s a lot of fun to be around young, bright people.”
Imbed Biosciences Inc. has received a federal research grant of more than $326,000 to continue developing biologic dressings that could be used to prevent wound infections and promote cell growth and healing.
Can?t afford a celebrity endorsement? Consider buying rights to a fraction of a famous face and morphing it, imperceptibly, with a stock photo. That face, too, can be potent. Working?in this instance?before the Tiger Woods scandal broke, two marketing researchers at the University of Wisconsin blended the superstar golfer?s face with that of another male, with Woods? face constituting 35% of the final image.
Progress continued Thursday for construction plans to the west end of the Memorial Union terrace, as the Memorial Union Design Committee discussed the finalized budget for the project that members said should be easily met.
BELOIT ? Officials unveiled Thursday one of the most expensive highway projects in state history, but it is designed to do more than ease congestion. The $715 million reconstruction and expansion of a 45-mile stretch of Interstate 39-90 between Madison and the Illinois state line will aid state tourism and help create more economic development along the corridor, one of the busiest stretches of highway in the state, officials say.
Cited: A study by the Center for Freight & Infrastructure Research at UW-Madison that found the roadway is responsible for moving $650 million to $800 million worth of commerce each day.
Plans for expanding the Mifflin neighborhood from a strictly student-residential area to one including commercial office buildings sparked controversy among the Plan Commission at a Wednesday night meeting.
UW-Madison?s annual real estate conference on June 1 will explore ways to build workable national housing policies in a polarized political environment. Boasting industry, government and academic perspectives, the conference will feature high-profile speakers including Karl ?Chip? Case, co-founder of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, and Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. Organizers hope ideas shared at the conference will translate to policies and actions that could spur the lagging housing market and help generate stronger U.S. economic growth.
City planning officials approved further construction to Camp Randall Stadium and remodeling of the neighboring McClain Center student athletic facility Monday.
….My mother?s ordeal reminded me again that more health care does not necessarily mean better health. ?It may in fact lead to worse outcomes in that an ever-expanding supply of specialists and tertiary services can lead to excessive testing and procedures that are not necessary, are duplicative, and are costly,? said Donna Friedsam, the health policy programs director at the UW Population Health Institute. It?s that last unintended side effect that bothers me most ? the extent to which the human body has become a sort of raw material for economic development.
For two centuries, public research universities such as Indiana University have helped shape the fortunes of the United States. They are economic and intellectual growth engines that give back far beyond what they receive in taxpayer support and knit together the residents of a state in a way that is uniquely American.
For the first time, Madison has been included in a survey of cities? business costs by the global accounting firm KMPG. Issued every two years, the Competitive Alternatives survey rates more than 110 cities in 14 countries on the cost of doing business. The study looks at 26 components — from tax rates and labor costs to construction prices and energy costs — to create a comparative index. That Madison was included — it?s the only Wisconsin location mentioned — is a coup of sorts for the city. Madison does score well for the low cost of research and development, including biotech R&D and clinical trials management. That is likely a reflection of the presence of the UW-Madison and Covance, the contract research firm.
On a sunny spring day on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Library Mall, an adventurous eater can sample bayou jambalaya, Peruvian cilantro rice, Thai spring rolls, Indonesian nasi goreng and crunchy balls of falafel, all without traveling more than a city block.
A new study suggests we will never get the new workforce this region and this region?s economy need to be competitive in the future without more highly educated and skilled workers. The La Follette School of Public Affairs study shows twenty percent of American men ages 25 to 54 are not working, compared to less than five percent in the 1950?s….This is a challenge for our education system as well as our job training and employment policies. But it?s clear that as we continue to create more jobs, the next crisis will be in finding workers qualified to fill those jobs.
The analysis, from the UW-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs, said the current U.S. unemployment rate of eight percent masks a far greater problem, the precarious situation faced by men with few skills and modest education.”Twenty percent of American men ages 25 to 54 are not working, compared to less than 5 percent in the 1950s, and 35 percent of those men lack high school diplomas,” said UW-Madison Prof. Robert Haveman, co-author of the study.
Stem cells derived from the skin and blood of blind people are morphing into retina-like balls in Dr. David Gamm?s lab at UW-Madison. WiCell Research Institute and the Waisman Center, both connected to the university, are growing stem cells to help researchers around the country prepare for clinical trials.
(This story first appeared in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal)
A: There are fish fry traditions in lots of places, and some ? but not all ? are related to the Lenten season and its Friday meat ban. But what sets Wisconsin apart is that it happens year-round and is so pervasive. “In the vast majority of restaurants you can get fish on a Friday night, and I just don?t think you can find that anywhere else,” said Janet Gilmore, an associate professor in the UW-Madison Folklore Program and Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures.
Cellular Dynamics International has expanded its distribution agreement with iPS Academia Japan. The Madison stem cell company will begin providing its iCell neurons and endothelial, or blood vessel, cells to the Japanese company in addition to its heart cells, distributed through an agreement reached last June.
Dear Editor: The student population at UW-Madison has a justifiable concern about sweatshops and feudal factories employed to make clothes and other gear for the UW. At the same time, taking Chancellor David Ward to task for these abuses, or violating the terms of a contract with Adidas, will not get compensation to those laid-off Indonesian workers, who deserve to be paid for their efforts. The real problem is that these practices cannot be adequately monitored by UW-Madison.
One of Wisconsin?s leading exports offers an encouraging sign. It?s not cheese, motorcycles or football. It?s high-end medical equipment. Think MRI, CAT scan, colonoscopy and ultra-sound. Thanks in part to the presence of GE Medical and spinoffs from research at UW-Madison, Wisconsin is third in the nation in electromedical equipment manufacturing employment, with 6,100 jobs. Only California and Minnesota employ more in the field.
Wisconsin Union Council members voted to approve the direction of multiple interior designs for the Memorial Union Reinvestment project, paving the way for construction on the project to begin this summer.
A decade ago, three-quarters of the world?s solar panels were manufactured right here in the U.S. Today, China is making 75 percent of them and it didn?t happen via the free market. The Chinese government made a conscious decision to grab control of the clean energy industry, subsidizing production of photovoltaic technology even as its own coal-burning power plants pump carbon emissions into the atmosphere. That production shift, says former White House ?green jobs? czar Van Jones, should alarm anyone concerned about the direction of this country.
He has yet to graduate from college. But Jordan Heginbottom, a Plymouth resident and junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has learned a critical lesson already: ?You have to continuously excel to avoid becoming obsolete.?
From 2009-2011, I walked rent checks over to my landlord at The Rifken Group on Madison?s Capitol square. Write the checks to Central Focus LLC, they told me and my two roommates. We didn?t realize the significance. As graduates of the University of Wisconsin in 2007, my roommates and I had a genuine affection for living in downtown Madison.
A state commission approved plans to renovate a Camp Randall facility as part of the second phase of the University of Wisconsin?s plan to build a new center for student athletes to train.
Several downtown residential proposals were granted unanimous approval from a city commission at its meeting Wednesday evening, including two that would provide new housing for University of Wisconsin students.
UW-Madison?s School of Business is ranked 24th in Bloomberg Businessweek?s annual listing of the top undergraduate business schools. That?s a jump of three spots since last year and the highest UW-Madison has been ranked since the list first started coming out in 2006.
Agronomists believe farmers should stick to their schedules even though the ground is warming up quickly and there are no signs it?s going to cool down anytime soon. “This weather is odd,” said Shawn Conley, an assistant professor in the UW-Madison agronomy department. “I think we have to be cautious and just know what the risks are out there.”
It may not salve the wounds of potentially losing the WIAA state basketball tournaments but Dane County has landed one of the state?s most prestigious farm shows for 2015. County officials on Monday said they filed an application to host Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, which old-timers might remember as ?Farm Progress Days.?
In the never ending battle for customers, Wisconsin?s largest telecom providers are touting their investment in new equipment as the number of official consumer complaints are falling. Fewer complaints are a bit of a surprise to Barry Orton, a professor of telecommunications at UW-Madison. He maintains it?s more difficult than ever to tell what companies are doing following the telecom reform bill passed here in 2007. Orton speculates that consumers today may have become numb to problems or simply change providers rather than filing a complaint. He also admits it?s possible companies are actually providing better service.
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While March Madness is now underway with the NCAA men?s basketball tournament, the city of Madison?s own annual version of basketball mania also began on Thursday. The first rounds of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association?s high school basketball tournament officially began on Thursday morning. However, while the tournament has called the state?s capital city its home for years, ongoing questions about whether this year could be Madison?s last as host hover over much of this year?s activities.
